L&S Leadership

United we stand. United, we are not.

As tensions have flared over events ranging from the 2020 murder of George Floyd to the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk, our nation’s divisions seem to grow more and more stark. Against that backdrop, Berkeley’s new course “Openness to Opposing Views” aims to foster dialogue across ideological divides.

The asynchronous, self-paced course launched in the summer with just 50 enrollees. Since then, it has grown to roughly 700 students, with thousands more Cal faculty, staff, and alumni taking advantage of the free, non-...

The College of Letters & Science Advisory Board is pleased to welcome four new members in Fall 2025. The L&S Advisory Board is a volunteer group of leaders in leaders in industry, government, and academia who are deeply committed to the mission of the College to provide a world-class liberal arts undergraduate education at UC Berkeley and to be a global leader in basic research and training within each of its represented disciplines.

Get to know new members Janet Dorling, Ned Purdom, Po Chi Wu, and Laura Young by reading their responses to the introduction Q&A below.

The Doreen B. Townsend Center for the Humanities will boost its fellowship and Art of Writing programs thanks to a generous gift from Matt and Margaret Jacobson. The couple pledged $750,000 to create the Paul Alpers Memorial Fund, honoring the founding director of UC Berkeley’s renowned nexus of humanities research and events.

“We feel so loved,” said Stephen Best, the center’s current faculty director, about the Jacobsons’ support. “I don't have a better way of expressing how deeply appreciative we are to have two people who get what we do and want to see us...

Chancellor Rich Lyons and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Ben Hermalin announced today that Interim Dean Richard Harland has been appointed as dean of the Division of Biological Sciences:

Dear Campus Community,

We are pleased to announce that Richard Harland has been selected to serve as dean of the College of Letters & Science Division of Biological Sciences at UC Berkeley. Professor Harland has been serving the university as interim dean since July 2024, senior associate dean since 2016, and professor of molecular and cellular biology...